Tony Hawk Skateboard (Wii)

Starting in 1999, Tony Hawk endorsed a series of video games published by Activision. From the launch of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, the series proved to be one of the best-selling video game franchises of the decade. After Robomodo took over the franchise they developed Ride (2009) & Shred (2010) to be used with this motion sensitive board. They aimed to provide players with a realistic skateboarding experience, as movements on the board were directly translated into the actions of the in-game character via infrared sensors. Unfortunately the resultant trade-off was action limited to pre-set paths, so despite claims it offered users intuitive hands-free control [& to]…experience all the adrenalin-pumping excitement of riding a real skateboard in the comfort and safety of your own home, the games were critical & commercial failures.